after sony announced an updated psp last month at e3, many folks have been speculating about what the new handheld game device will really be about. sony is touting the new device as slimmer, sleeker, and all-around sexier than the original psp, and today we were lucky enough to actually sit in the new psp's presence.

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though the device is expected to ship on september 10th, sony thoughtfully invited both myself and pc magazine labs analyst brian neal to a hands-on demo of the upcoming portable gaming product. redesigned to slip into pockets a little easier, this new psp is 19 percent smaller than the previous psp, according to sony.

the new psp also felt noticeably lighter when we held it in our hands. it was also more svelte, even though the machine sports virtually the same specs as the older psp. we also marveled at how much simpler the umd disc slot mechanism is compared with the clunkier psp's. along with the improved slot, there's twice the ram (64mb), plus the ability to output video to tvs at up to 480 by 272 pixels. sony proudly demonstrated this feature in addition to displaying the psp's gameplay on a large flat-panel tv set.

expect the latest psp to be available in hues of "ice silver" as part of the daxter psp entertainment pack ($199.99), "ceramic white" in the star wars battlefront psp entertainment pack ($199.99), and in a traditional "piano black" core pack ($169.99). you'll have to wait a little longer for the battlefront version which is scheduled to hit shelves in october.